DOCSLIB.ORG

Music & Politics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Music & Politics Branding a Cool Celebrity President: Popular Music, Political Advertising, and the 2012 Election JOANNA LOVE During the 2008 American presidential campaign, Senator John McCain attempted to twist the widespread popularity and likability of his opponent, Senator Barack Obama, into a caricature of a frivolous and “intellectually hollow” celebrity.1 In a move later criticized for its overt mudslinging, McCain personally endorsed a commercial titled “Celebrity” that pictured Obama opposite the train- wreck pop princess Britney Spears and party-girl heiress Paris Hilton (Figure 1). Figure 1: Commercial stills: 2008 Obama “Celebrity” Commercial, Endorsed by John McCain. John McCain 2008, “Celebrity,” 2008. Set to the rhythmic chanting of Obama’s name, the spot features images of the Illinois senator at a rally in Berlin, Germany.2 The sights and sounds of the paparazzi’s cameras accompany a montage of Obama’s face spliced between images of Spears and Hilton. A voiceover declares, “He’s the biggest celebrity in the world, but is he ready to lead?” The commercial continues, “With gas prices soaring, Barack Obama says ‘no’ to offshore drilling? And says he’ll raise taxes on electricity?” To punctuate the implied gravity of these questions, the pounding of a bass drum silences the presumably brainwashed and star-struck chanting crowd. Only the punch line is left to round out the spot: “Higher taxes. More foreign oil. That’s the real Obama.” 1 Sam Stein, “McCain Ad Links Paris Hilton, Britney Spears To Obama,” Huffington Post, August 7, 2008, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/30/mccain-ad-links-paris-hil_n_115841.html. 2 The chanting footage was taken from Obama’s 2008 trip to Berlin, where about 200,000 Germans turned out to hear his speech. The adoration given to him by the people of Berlin attracted media attention because, as one political writer put it, “The event minted Obama’s reputation as a political rock star, one capable of charming the masses at home and abroad.” Cameron Abadi, “Obama Ist Klein Berliner: Fifty Years after JFK’s Visit, and Five Since His Own, Obama Returns to Berlin—to a Much Different Mood,” New Republic, June 18, 2013, http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113544/obamas- berlin-visit-2013-wont-be-anything-2008. Music & Politics 9, Number 2 (Summer 2015), ISSN 1938-7687. Article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3998/mp.9460447.0009.203 2 Music and Politics Summer 2015 When asked to comment on the commercial’s portrayal of him as a shallow and irresponsible media star, Obama refused.3 Instead, the Illinois senator stated that McCain spent too much time talking negatively about his opponent and that someone should ask the Arizona senator where he stood on the campaign’s issues.4 In the end, calling attention to Obama’s high public profile proved fruitless for McCain and his party as Obama went on to win the presidency. Media theorist Douglas Kellner analyzed this as part of the political “celebrity spectacle” that engulfed the 2008 presidential race. In his discussion of the media attention that surrounded Obama, Kellner pointed out: “[q]uite obviously, the Republicans did not understand that Obama’s rising celebrity status was helping him become more popular, getting him more attention, support and, eventually, votes from a population that is generally attracted by celebrity status and culture.”5 He thus surmised that any and all attention paid to Obama’s celebrity status ultimately helped him to win his first presidency. Fast forward to President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Four years later, Obama openly embraced the celebrity status he had acquired during his first term in office. Throughout the term, he had not only established a reputation for rubbing elbows with superstar musicians (like Beyoncé and Jay-Z), actresses (Eva Longoria and Ellen DeGeneres), and even fashion designers (Michael Kors), but also for being fluent in popular culture and its trends. Obama noticeably went above and beyond former president Bill Clinton’s iconic saxophone rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel” on The Arsenio Hall Show two decades prior and allowed the media to film him participating in numerous pop-cultural events.6 These included a friendly round of basketball, dancing, singing, appearing on multiple talk shows, and even drinking a beer in public. Never before had there been an American president who so convincingly expressed a sincere (and public) affinity for so many facets of popular culture and successfully wielded such a myriad of its signifiers as cultural capital to win the affections of “the masses.”7 Obama thus used media attention to fashion himself as “cool” to the American public. Thomas Frank locates the “hip” and the “cool” in music and imagery that have proved central to national brand advertising since the rise of the baby boomer counterculture in the 1960s (which, incidentally, is the generation to which Obama belongs).8 In the decades since, these traits have been attached to corporate products to convey overarching concepts of “youthfulness” and “energy.”9 3 Paris Hilton released a tongue-in-cheek video of her own that commented on the ridiculousness of her comparison to Obama. In the video she sarcastically “accepts” McCain’s “endorsement” for her as president and questions his ability be an effective leader. She even mockingly labels him as “old enough to remember when dancing was a sin.” “Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad,” Funny or Die, August 5, 2008, http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d/paris-hilton-responds-to-mccain-ad-from-paris-hilton-adam-ghost-panther- mckay-and-chris-henchy?playlist=210399. 4 Stein, “McCain Ad,” Huffington Post. 5 Douglas Kellner, “Barack Obama and Celebrity Spectacle,” International Journal of Communication 3 (2009): 722. 6 Clinton was running for his first presidential term at the time of his appearance on Hall’s show. “Clinton Appearance on Arsenio Hall Show,” C-Span, June 3, 1992, http://www.c-span.org/video/?26472-1/clinton-appearance-arsenio-hall-show. 7 For more on Obama’s connection to popular culture see: Nicholas A. Yanes and Derrias Carter, eds., The Iconic Obama 2007–2009: Essays on Media Representations of the Candidate and New President (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2012). 8 In chapter eight of The Conquest of Cool, Frank discusses Pepsi-Cola’s attempt to entice the 1960s counterculture demographic by working to replicate aspects of their presumed lifestyle through fast-paced images and energetic music. This demonstrates the company’s belief that they could attract young consumers with tropes that “defined” their generation—i.e., those that were “hip” and “cool.” In the decades since, marketers have continued to use these tactics. See Thomas Frank, The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise of Hip Consumerism (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997), 168-183, http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226924632.001.0001. 9 Frank notes that from the 1960s onward, PepsiCo., Inc. used these words to describe their target audience. The Conquest of Cool, 168-183. Branding a Cool Celebrity President 3 In the pages below, I extend both Kellner’s notion of the political “celebrity spectacle” and Frank’s concept of “cool” to argue that it was a combination of the two—what I call Obama’s “cool celebrity”— that many advertising campaigns both for and against the president embraced in his 2012 race against Mitt Romney.10 Both parties either explicitly or implicitly used this terminology in their commercials, linking Obama’s “coolness” to his youthfulness, energy, and celebrity status through signifiers of mainstream popular culture—specifically aural and visual tropes borrowed from mainstream popular music.11 This essay thus demonstrates how two representative Internet commercials created and circulated by supporters of both major American political parties enlisted a potpourri of pop music signifiers that worked the president’s “cool celebrity” status, for better or for worse, into their agendas. And as we will see, marketers’ employment of the sights and sounds of popular culture forced them (sometimes unsuccessfully) to negotiate established aesthetic boundaries between political and national brand advertising. The first commercial examined below is titled “We Are a Powerful Force.” 12 This spot proved characteristic of those created by the pro-Obama camp as it played-up his cool celebrity persona and highlighted his 2012 campaign slogan, “Forward” (Figure 2).13 Figure 2: Commercial still: Obama’s 2012 Campaign Slogan14 10 I choose to use term “cool” over “hip” throughout this essay for a few reasons. Most obviously, the word “cool” is specifically used in the commercials I discuss and in viewer commentary. While concepts of hipness and coolness are intertwined, and hipness certainly plays a role in these commercials, it is not my goal here to rehash the perilousness of hip ideology, which as Phil Ford points out, evaporates the moment it is defined. Space considerations therefore prevent my reading here from being concerned with the semantics or aesthetics of hip terminology. Instead, I am interested in connecting the practices used in these commercials with advertising’s long history of using images and sounds marketers have been more generally identified as cool (trendy) to market corporate goods. For a recent discussion on the aesthetics of hipness, see Phil Ford, Dig: Sound and Music in Hip Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 3-18. 11 The rise of MTV in the 1980s reformed popular music aesthetics, making them increasingly dependent on images in addition to sound. See Andrew Goodwin’s discussion in Dancing in the Distraction Factory: Music Television and Popular Culture (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992), 24–48. 12 Organizing for America, “We are a Powerful Force,” YouTube video, November 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB7XQw3k7uc.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dieter Meier: Künstler, Schriftsteller, Filmer, Musiker Und Unternehmer
    12 Dezember 2011 Dieter Meier: Künstler, Schriftsteller, Filmer, Musiker und Unternehmer. 14 Dieter Meier Perpetuum mobile der Selbstverwirklichung marketing & management Dieter Meier Perpetuum mobile der Selbstverwirklichung Mit seiner Band «Yello» erlangte Dieter Meier in den Achtzigerjahren internationalen Ruhm. Heute konzentriert sich der ehemalige Pokerspieler vor allem auf seine Tätigkeit als Biofarmer in Argentinien, auf Museumsausstellungen mit seiner Konzeptkunst und den nächsten Spielfilm. Gibt es für Meier ein Erfolgsrezept, und wie begegnet er den wirtschaft- lichen Entwicklungen? «persönlich» hat mit ihm gesprochen. Interview: Matthias Ackeret Bearbeitung: Nathalie Zeindler Bilder: Marc Wetli Herr Meier, auf Ihrer Internetseite haben Sie welches dem Peronismus seit vielen Jahr- Fünf Farmen, welche die verschiedensten einen Kalender mit den einzelnen Jahreszahlen zehnten die Macht garantiert. Produkte hervorbringen: Wein, Premium und ihren Ereignissen aufgeführt. War das Beef, Mais, Getreide, Soja, Früchte und Wolle. Jahr 2011 ein wichtiges Dieter-Meier-Jahr? Demnach ist ein politischer Wandel in Ja, ich konnte in diesem Jahr diverse Pro- Argentinien noch in weiter Ferne? Wie laufen Ihre Geschäfte im Silicon Valley? jekte realisieren, darunter ein Kinderbuch, Es sieht so aus. Allein die Stadtverwaltung Ich habe die Firma verkauft. Obwohl wir die ein Buch über «Yello», ein autobiografi- von Buenos Aires beschäftigt 150 000 An- ersten digitalen Mischpulte herstellten und sches Bilderbuch und eine Retrospektive gestellte. Bürgermeister Mauricio Macri hat damit auch sechs Oscars für «Best Soundmi- in einem Museum in Hamburg. Viel Freude vor zwei Jahren 3000 Personen entlassen. xing« gewannen, gelang es mir nicht, diese machte mir, dass ich nach 35 Jahren mit der Aber das hat niemand gemerkt, weil diese Maschinen erfolgreich zu vermarkten.
    [Show full text]
  • Obama's Insurrection
    Preface to Matthew Vadum’s Obama’s Insurrection By David Horowitz It is not the proper role of an opposition party in a democracy to mount a “resistance” to a duly elected government and press for its overthrow at the very outset of its tenure. But that is precisely what the Democrats have done in the first months of the Trump administration. For the second time in its history, the Democratic Party has opted to secede from the Union and its social contract. This time there is not going to be an actual civil war because the federal government is now so powerful that whoever controls it will decide the outcome. The passions of an irreconcilable conflict are still present but they are channeled into a political confrontation over the executive power. In launching their resistance, Democrats rejected the honeymoon normally afforded 1 to incoming presidents. Until now this tradition has functioned as something of a sacred political rite. Campaigns are by their nature divisive, and they inevitably exaggerate the differences between factions of the electorate. The presidential honeymoon is designed to reunite the contending factions as constituents of a shared constitutional republic. It allows an incoming president to take his place as the chief executive of all the people, to have his cabinet confirmed, and to launch his agendas before the normal contentions of a democracy resume. It ratifies the peaceful transition of power and reasserts the principle that as Americans we are one. According to the Gallup organization, the normal duration of a presidential honeymoon in recent times has been seven months.
    [Show full text]
  • Brief of United States Senatorsenatorssss Sheldon Whitehouse and John Mccain As Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents ______
    No. 11-1179 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States _______________ AMERICAN TRADITION PARTNERSHIP , INC ., F.K.A. WESTERN TRADITION PARTNERSHIP , INC ., ET AL ., Petitioners, v. STEVE BULLOCK , ATTORNEY GENERAL OF MONTANA , ET AL ., Respondents . _______________ On Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari To The Supreme Court of Montana _______________ BRIEF OF UNITED STATES SENATORSENATORSSSS SHELDON WHITEHOUSE AND JOHN MCCAIN AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF RESPONDENTS _______________ NEAL KUMAR KATYAL Counsel of Record JUDITH E. COLEMAN HOGAN LOVELLS US LLP 555 Thirteenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004 (202) 637-5528 [email protected] Counsel for Amici Curiae TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ....................................... ii STATEMENT OF INTEREST .................................... 1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ..................................... 2 ARGUMENT ............................................................... 3 I. THE MONTANA SUPREME COURT APPLIED THE CORRECT LEGAL STANDARD TO THE FACTUAL RECORD BEFORE IT. ........................................................... 3 II. THE COURT SHOULD IN ALL EVENTS DECLINE PETITIONERS’ INVITATION TO SUMMARILY REVERSE. ............................... 5 A. Political Spending After Citizens United Demonstrates that Coordination and Disclosure Rules Do Not Impose a Meaningful Check on the System. ................... 8 B. Unlimited, Coordinated and Undisclosed Spending Creates a Strong Potential for Quid Pro Quo Corruption. ........ 17 C. The Appearance of Corruption
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Organizational Characteristics on Super PAC
    The Impact of Organizational Characteristics on Super PAC Financing and Independent Expenditures Paul S. Herrnson University of Connecticut [email protected] Presented at the Meeting of the Campaign Finance Task Force, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, DC, April 21, 2017 (revised June 2017). 1 Exe cutive Summa ry Super PACs have grown in number, wealth, and influence since the Supreme Court laid the foundation for their formation in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, and the decisions reached by other courts and the FEC clarified the boundaries of their political participation. Their objectives and activities also have evolved. Super PACs are not nearly as monolithic as they have been portrayed by the media. While it is inaccurate to characterize them as representative of American society, it is important to recognize that they vary in wealth, mission, structure, affiliation, political perspective, financial transparency, and how and where they participate in political campaigns. Organizational characteristics influence super PAC financing, including the sums they raise. Organizational characteristics also affect super PAC independent expenditures, including the amounts spent, the elections in which they are made, the candidates targeted, and the tone of the messages delivered. The super PAC community is not static. It is likely to continue to evolve in response to legal challenges; regulatory decisions; the objectives of those who create, administer, and finance them; and changes in the broader political environment. 2 Contents I. Introduction 3 II. Data and Methods 4 III. Emergence and Development 7 IV. Organizational Characteristics 11 A. Finances 11 B. Mission 14 C. Affiliation 17 D. Financial Transparency 19 E.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013 3 12 Obama and Campaign Finances
    Obama and campaign finances By Joe Trotter Washington Times Published March 12, 2013 Politics is optics. It’s difficult to win people’s hearts and minds without being well regarded. President Obama knows this all too well, which is why he and his closest supporters are in high-damage control mode over a group called Organizing for Action (OFA). Organizing for Action was created from the remnants of Obama for America by former White House aide Jim Messina and other Obama allies, in an attempt to harness the power of the president’s campaign apparatus. With the blessing and support of Mr. Obama, OFA’s goal is to advance the president’s agenda through public advocacy. Public advocacy, as OFA’s founders know, requires expenditures of money. This presents a problem. For many years, Mr. Obama publicly lambasted the influence of money in politics. In particular, his most vicious attacks were reserved for non-profit organizations designated as 501(c)4 groups. Naturally, groups supporting further campaign finance regulation were thrilled to find an ally in the president of the United States. After suffering a devastating blow to their cause in the form of the Citizens United decision, proponents of expanded campaign finance laws viewed Mr. Obama’s admonition of the Supreme Court in the 2010 State of the Union Speech as a rallying cry. Emboldened by Mr. Obama’s rhetoric, pro-regulation groups tried pushing a number of laws through Congress addressing everything from contribution limits to disclosure, with the knowledge that they had an ally who would sign these measures into law.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise and Impact of Fact-Checking in U.S. Campaigns by Amanda Wintersieck a Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment O
    The Rise and Impact of Fact-Checking in U.S. Campaigns by Amanda Wintersieck A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved April 2015 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Kim Fridkin, Chair Mark Ramirez Patrick Kenney ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2015 ABSTRACT Do fact-checks influence individuals' attitudes and evaluations of political candidates and campaign messages? This dissertation examines the influence of fact- checks on citizens' evaluations of political candidates. Using an original content analysis, I determine who conducts fact-checks of candidates for political office, who is being fact- checked, and how fact-checkers rate political candidates' level of truthfulness. Additionally, I employ three experiments to evaluate the impact of fact-checks source and message cues on voters' evaluations of candidates for political office. i DEDICATION To My Husband, Aza ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my sincerest thanks to the many individuals who helped me with this dissertation and throughout my graduate career. First, I would like to thank all the members of my committee, Professors Kim L. Fridkin, Patrick Kenney, and Mark D. Ramirez. I am especially grateful to my mentor and committee chair, Dr. Kim L. Fridkin. Your help and encouragement were invaluable during every stage of this dissertation and my graduate career. I would also like to thank my other committee members and mentors, Patrick Kenney and Mark D. Ramirez. Your academic and professional advice has significantly improved my abilities as a scholar. I am grateful to husband, Aza, for his tireless support and love throughout this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Irving Moskowitz, Controversial Backer of Israeli Settlements, Gives $1 Million to Anti- Obama Super PAC
    UNCLASSIFIED U.S. Department of State Case No. F-2014-20439 Doc No. C05794264 Date: 11/30/2015 RELEASE IN PART B6 From: H <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 14, 2012 1:12 PM To: '[email protected]' Subject: Fw: Worth reading. From: sbwhoeop [mailto Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2012 10:25 AM Subject: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/12/irving-moskowitz-israeli-settlements-anti-obama-super-pac_n_1416041.html 14161 Blumenthal paulblumenthalnhuffincitonpost.com Irving Moskowitz, Controversial Backer Of Israeli Settlements, Gives $1 Million To Anti- Obama Super PAC Posted: 04/12/2012 9:21 am By Paul Blumenthal WASHINGTON -- Even in the era of unbridled campaign contributions, Irving Moskowitz's $1 million donation in February to American Crossroads, the Karl Rove-linked super PAC, is eye-catching. A retired physician who made a fortune purchasing hospitals and running bingo and casino operations in the economically depressed California town of Hawaiian Gardens, Moskowitz is well- known to those who follow the Israel-Palestine conflict. His contributions to far-right Jewish settler groups, questionable archaeological projects and widespread land purchases in East Jerusalem and the West Bank have routinely inflamed the region over the past four decades and, according to many familiar with the conflict, made him a key obstacle to peace in the Middle East. Now, at age 83, Moskowitz has turned his money on the American political realm in a more prominent fashion than ever before, funding "birther" groups that question the legitimacy of President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship and others that stoke fears about the president's alleged ties to "radical Islam." Although he has funded Republican politicians and organizations in the past, his $1 million donation to American Crossroads is his biggest contribution to U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Elected-Affiliated Nonprofits: Closing the Public Integrity Gap Richard Briffault1
    February 10, 2021 draft Elected-Affiliated Nonprofits: Closing the Public Integrity Gap Richard Briffault1 I. Introduction In December 2013, shortly after winning election as New York City’s mayor – and some weeks before he was sworn into office – Bill de Blasio announced the formation of a “star-studded” public relations campaign that would help him secure the New York state legislature’s support for the funding of a centerpiece of his successful election campaign – universal pre-kindergarten for New York City’s children. The campaign would be run by a newly formed § 501(c)(4) tax-exempt corporation – the Campaign for One New York (CONY) -- which would raise donations from individuals, corporations, unions, and advocacy organizations to build public support and lobby Albany for “universal pre-K.”2 Over the next two-and-one-half years, CONY raised and spent over four million dollars, initially in support of universal pre-K, and then, after that goal was achieved, to promote another plank in the mayor’s 2013 campaign platform – changes to the city’s land use and zoning rules to increase affordable housing. The mayor played an active role in fund- raising for CONY, which received huge donations from real estate interests, unions and other groups that did business with the city, and he participated in its activities, including 1 Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation, Columbia University School of Law. The author was chair of the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) during some of the time period addressed in this article. The facts discussed in this article are drawn entirely from public reports and do not reflect any information the author gained from his COIB service.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Democratic Party at a Crossroads MATT BROWNE / JOHN HALPIN / RUY TEIXEIRA
    The American Democratic Party at a Crossroads MATT BROWNE / JOHN HALPIN / RUY TEIXEIRA AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY* * It is neither a parliamentary party nor a membership organization, but rather coordinated by a series of committees. Official website: The Democratic National Committee (DNC): www.democrats.org; The Democratic Governors’ Association (DGA): www.democraticgovernors.org; The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC): www.dscc.org; The Democratic Congressional Campaign Commit- tee (DCCC): www.dccc.org; The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC): www.dlcc.org; The Association of State Democratic Chairs (ASDC): www.democrats.org/asdc Party leader: Governor Tim Kaine is the Chairman of the DNC. Founded: 1828 Electoral resonance 2008: Senate: 57; House: 257 parliamentary elections: 2006: Senate: 49; House: 233 2004: Senate: 44; House: 202 Government President Barack Obama was elected 44th President participation: of the United States on November 4, 2008, beating his Republican rival by 365 electoral votes to 173. He assumed office on January 20, 2009, returning the Democrats to the executive branch for the first time in eight years. 144 Browne/Halpin/Teixeira, USA ipg 4 /2010 Foundations of the Democratic Party The Democratic Party of the United States was founded in 1828 and traces its philosophy back to Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, both of whom styled themselves as advocates of the »common man.« Despite these origins, the Democratic Party has not always been the most pro- gressive party in the us. For example, the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, not the Democrats, took the lead in ending slavery in the coun- try. And in the Progressive Era (roughly 1890–1920), the Republicans, with figures such as Teddy Roosevelt and Bob La Follette, again took the lead in fighting corruption, reforming the electoral process, curbing the power of big capital, and developing social welfare programs.
    [Show full text]
  • Unshackling the Presidency to Fix the Government
    Washington Memo Unshackling the Presidency to Fix the Government By PETER BAKER Published: The New York Times National Edition, July 14, 2012, p. A12. WASHINGTON — In all the discussion these days about how dysfunctional Washington has become, attention usually centers on a fractious Congress riven by partisanship and paralyzed at times by rules and obstruction. Often lost in that conversation is the possibility that the presidency itself may need fixing. At least that is the conclusion of a bipartisan group of former advisers to presidents and would-be presidents who have drafted what they call a plan to make the presidency work better. With the help of several former White House chiefs of staff, the group, called No Labels, has fashioned a blueprint that would make whoever wins in November both more powerful and more accountable. The idea is to cut through some of the institutional obstacles to decisive leadership that have challenged President Obama and his recent predecessors, while also erecting structures to foster more bipartisanship, transparency and responsiveness. If the proposals were enacted, the next president would have more latitude to reorganize the government, appoint his own team, reject special-interest measures and fast-track his own initiatives through Congress. But he would also be called on to interact more regularly with lawmakers, reporters and the public. “There aren’t any magic answers to Washington’s problems,” said Dan Schnur, a former Republican strategist who worked on several presidential campaigns and now directs the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. “But what these reforms do is make it easier for elected officials who are serious about solving problems to do so.” Nancy Jacobson, a longtime Democratic fund-raiser who, like Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Progressivism's New Hate on Campus
    Progressivism’s New Hate on Campus The ‘Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions’ movement against Israel aims to cripple that country By Andrew E. Harrod Summary : Across American campuses, college radicals are fi ghting hard as they try to harm Israel and celebrate Palestinians. Though they call themselves nonviolent left- ists opposed to racism, they actually have no problem with anti-Semites and violent terrorists. This report shines a spotlight on the outrageous deeds and words of numerous leaders in the “Boycott, Divest, and Sanc- tions” movement. he deck has long been stacked against Israel on America’s college cam- Tpuses. The Left’s BDS movement— the subject of this report—aims at Israel and Israel alone. BDS seeks to cripple the Jewish state whose creation gave refuge for the world’s Jews after Nazi Germany’s Ho- force—itself, a dubious concept—against its locaust incinerated six million of them. The enemies. Those who abhor Israel ignore January 2016 B, D, and S are the non-military weapons— the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by boycotts , divestments , and sanctions —that Muslim nations, many of which would drive CONTENTS Israel-haters use to undermine America’s the Jews “into the sea” if they could. strongest Middle East ally. Yet in the United States, anti-Israel cam- The movement’s activists mostly live on uni- paigners appear as occupying the moral high The BDS Movement versity campuses, dress themselves in moral ground. Fighting for its existence continu- Page 1 garments, and self-righteously denounce ously since 1948, the media depicts Israel Israel as racist, even genocidal, because it as a bully and a regional hegemon.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fourteen-Billion-Dollar Election Emerging Campaign Finance Trends and Their Impact on the 2020 Presidential Race and Beyond
    12 The Fourteen-Billion-Dollar Election Emerging Campaign Finance Trends and their Impact on the 2020 Presidential Race and Beyond Michael E. Toner and Karen E. Trainer The 2020 presidential and congressional election was the most expensive election in American history, shattering previous fundraising and spending records. Total spending on the 2020 election totaled an estimated $14 bil- lion, which was more than double the amount spent during the 2016 cycle and more than any previous election in U.S. history. 1 The historic 2020 spending tally was more than was spent in the previous two election cycles combined.2 Moreover, former Vice President Joseph Biden and Senator Kamala Harris made fundraising history in 2020 as their presidential campaign became the first campaign in history to raise over $1 billion in a single election cycle, with a total of $1.1 billion.3 For their part, President Trump and Vice Presi- dent Pence raised in excess of $700 million for their presidential campaign, more than double the amount that they raised in 2016.4 The record amount of money expended on the 2020 election was also fu- eled by a significant increase in spending by outside groups such as Super PACs as well as enhanced congressional candidate fundraising. Political party expenditures increased in 2020, but constituted a smaller share of total electoral spending. Of the $14 billion total, approximately $6.6 billion was spent in connection with the presidential race and $7.2 billion was expended at the congressional level.5 To put those spending amounts into perspective, the $7.2 billion tally at the congressional level nearly equals the GDP of Monaco.6 More than $1 billion of the $14 billion was spent for online advertising on platforms such as Facebook and Google.7 203 204 Michael E.
    [Show full text]